The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran failed to comply with an August 31 UN deadline to halt its uranium enrichment. The West fears Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing atomic weapons, a charge that Iran denies.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking today at a meeting of the 25 EU ministers in Finland, said the EU had "no interest" in escalating the crisis, but said Iran had to show it was serious about continuing talks.
The EU's chief diplomat, Javier Solana, is to hold talks next week with senior Iranian nuclear officials. On September 1, the first day of the two-day meeting in Finland, Solana said that time for talks with Iran was not "infinite."
In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Gregory Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, said Washington also wants a diplomatic solution, and stressed that "we strongly support the peaceful use of nuclear technology, including by Iran."
However, he noted that "after three years of intensive verification work" the head of the IAEA, Muhammad el-Baradei, "cannot certify that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful."
He added that Iran's uranium enrichment activities "are not necessary for civil nuclear power."
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said that his country has no intention of giving up its right to peaceful nuclear technology.